Breathing
by generalquistis
Summary: Cloud Strife had gone insane just because of Aerith... so he decided to miss out on his best friend's wedding and go back to the place where he left his true beloved... and get her back no matter what the others say...
1. one

Breathing

By: General Quistis

Disclaimer: I neither own Final Fantasy VII nor its characters.

Author's Note: This fic was inspired by the following songs: _Breathing_ by Lifehouse; and _Bituwin_ (English translation: _Star_) by Itchyworms. Since I already have another Clerith fic called "Stars" based on _Bituwin_, I decided to just call this _Breathing_. The setting? Sort of Neo-ShinRa… Of course, I'm still a Tifa+Rufus so it's implied here… but this is more of a Clerith so if you hate my preferences, just leave… if you still insist on reading this, then go on, I'm not stopping you…

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Coz I am hanging on every word you'll say 

_And even if you don't wanna speak tonight_

_That's alright, alright with me…_

_Coz I want nothing more than sit outside heaven's door_

_And listen to you breathing;_

It's where I wanna be… 

*** 

            He could not take it anymore. Everything was driving him crazy. "I have to…" he thought silently with a deep frown on his face as he scanned the lake. The summer heat was beginning to drain the energy from him but the mere thought of her being with him again gave him the motivation to go on with his plan. 

"No one is going to stop me now… not even Tifa… hahaha… she's not even worth my time. She was never worth my time… I never loved her, did I?" he asked in his thoughts with a mean look on his face as he removed his boots and left them on the ground before he started to walk towards the lake. "It was you whom I had loved…" he whispered softly with a half gentle smile on his face as he stepped into the water. He continued to walk until the water level was above his chest and he just submerged himself into the water, his eyes still open as if searching for something.

"I am searching for someone… she's not a something… she's a someone…" he thought as he gazed around, seeing the new surroundings. Everything water.

Ahead of him was already the deep section but he did not hesitate to swim down further. "I have to… even if I run out of air… no! I can't run out of air! I have to save her!" he thought as he swam faster.

*** 

            "Where is he?" Yuffie asked impatiently as she paced back and forth across the front door of the Church.

"He's going to miss Tifa's wedding day! How could he do this?" Elena asked as she saw the bridal car finally arriving. "She's here…" she thought silently.

"Elena, where is the Best Man?" Reno demanded as he marched to her from the altar.

"Cloud Strife isn't here yet." She replied before going to Tifa to assist her.

"What? Wh…who's gonna be the Best Man? Where the hell did he go?" he asked.

"What's going on?" Tifa asked as Scarlet handed her the bouquet of roses.

"Kya~h… the Best Man isn't here yet." Scarlet replied with a snotty look on her face.

Tifa blinked before turning to Barret and Vincent. "I thought he was with you guys?" she asked.

"I didn't see him this morning. The last time I saw him was during the bachelor's night last night." Vincent explained.

Rufus, from the altar, was staring at them discussing from outside. "What are they doing, Reeve?" he asked.

"I think they're talking about your best man." Reeve replied.

Rufus rolled his eyes. "If that guy isn't here yet then just get Reno as the proxy! We'll deal with Cloud later…" he told Reeve.

*** 

            He continued to swim and stopped when he finally saw her body…

To his surprise, it was still complete…

It wasn't even rotting yet. He rejoiced deep inside as he got nearer to her, grasping her arms gently and slowly lifting her up to him in an effort to take a much better look at her.

Her hair had been unbraided already but she still looked perfect.

"God… you're still perfect… the most perfect girl…" he thought as he finally decided to swim up back to the surface again because he was running out of air.

Moments later when he got themselves out of the water, he was panting heavily but he still managed to carry her a little bit further after he put on his boots again. When he got a little tired, he decided to take a rest. He put her down on the dry ground, her whole body soaked. "Are you cold, Aerith?" he asked as he knelt down beside her and made the body sit down, leaning her head against his shoulder.

She looked pale…

"You're not dead yet… if you're dead, you wouldn't be as beautiful as you are right now, Aerith…" he told her as he wrapped his arms around her and gazed down at her lovely pinkish lips.

Now if only he could gaze into her lovely emerald eyes…

But they were closed.

"Nah, you're tired… just sleep, Aerith," he said with a slight smile on his face as he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before he carefully removed her pink jacket and set it aside on the ground. "Better get you some dry clothing, Aerith," he said before he got up with her in his arms, carrying her again.

With that, he started to walk again.

The heat of the sun was starting to dry them up.

He could smell her.

She smelled good.

It made him smile and look down at her. "You're so beautiful," he thought silently as he adored her beauty. "Did I even get the chance to tell you that before?" he thought.

He continued to walk until they finally reached a small town. Everyone stared at him and the body in his arms as he passed by, but he didn't care. He headed straight to the nearest inn.

"Good… afternoon, sir," the innkeeper greeted, stopping at first because of the sight of the girl in the young man's arms.

He nodded his head in greeting.

The innkeeper forced a smile. "A room for two?" she asked weakly.

"Yes." he replied.

The innkeeper opened her logbook and got her pen.

"We'll only be staying for the night. She's very tired and she really needs to rest…" he said as he admired Aerith's beauty.

The innkeeper raised her eyebrows at them. "Okay… that'd be 100 Gil. May I have your name please?" 

He went to the couch and placed Aerith there for a while before reaching for his pocket and pulled out a hundred Gil and handed it to the innkeeper. "Cloud Strife." He replied.

The innkeeper wrote his name. "Okay then…" she got the key. "Second floor… 6th room to the right." She said as she handed him the key.

Cloud got the key and nodded his head in gratitude before heading back to Aerith and picked her up in his arms again. "Don't worry, Aerith… you'll be laying down in a very soft bed tonight with me… don't worry…" he whispered with a loving smile on his face before he proceeded upstairs.

The innkeeper turned to the other people inside the inn when she heard some of them saying, "I think the girl's dead…"

"Well if the girl's dead… you mean, that's a corpse?"

*** 

Author's Note: Is it demented? :) I really wanted it to be demented… Is it dark? I wanted it to be dark. Did you like it? I hope you did… somehow… You want more? Go ahead… I'm giving you more… :)


	2. two

Breathing

By: General Quistis

Disclaimer: I neither own Final Fantasy VII nor its characters.

Author's Note: Yes, Cloud is insane here so stop accusing me of OOCness. It's part of the story, okay?

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            Cloud had to remove her clothes before putting her on the bed and covered her naked body with the blanket after removing her boots. Afterwards, he hung her clothes in the coat rack to let them dry.

He went to the bed and examined her pale face and her wet hair that was already beginning to soak the bed sheets and the pillows. He shook his head in disbelief before proceeding to the bathroom to get some towels. When he got back to her, he removed the blanket from her body and sat down on the bed beside her body. He gently grasped her arms and pulled her upward to him, making her sit down and leaned her back against the headboard. "You're still soaking wet, Aerith," he said gently before reaching out for one of the towels and gently wiped her face and her whole body with it. "You have such a perfect body, Aerith," he said with an embarrassed look on his face.

Her head drooped to her right side and it weighed her whole body down to the bed, making her fall slowly.

He chuckled. "Aerith, c'mon. I need to dry you up so that you won't catch cold," he said as he made her sit down again and proceeded in wiping her. 

He was silent for a few moments, just keeping an eye on her beautiful face.

He smiled lovingly at her as he moved closer until his face was only just an inch away from hers. "I've got big plans for the two of us, Aerith," he said softly before kissing her.

Surprisingly, for him, her lips felt so warm, like she was still alive…

And he started to cry as he reached out to embrace her, cradling her in his arms. However, when his tears fell upon her skin, he stopped and wiped them away. "N…no… I mustn't cry… because you're already here!" he said aloud as he smiled gently at her.

With that, he threw the towels away and lay her down on the bed again, making sure that she was comfortable. He placed the blanket over her naked body and stared at her lovely but pale face. "I'll be back after a couple of hours, Aerith…" he said before kissing her cheek. "I love you…" he whispered gently as he caressed her cheek with the back of his hand before finally leaving her inside the room.

*** 

            "Where did Cloud go?" Rufus asked during the reception.

"We really don't know, Rufus…" Vincent replied.

Rufus turned his gaze to Tifa, who was laughing happily with Yuffie and the other girls in one corner of the room. "She doesn't even look disappointed… despite the fact that his boy bud isn't here." He said.

"Gyah… maybe as long as you're here, she's really happy. You know how much she loves you, Sir…" Heidegger said as he nudged Rufus. 

Rufus narrowed his eyes on him and moved away. "Shut up." He snapped impatiently, blushing all of a sudden, then turning to Barret and Vincent, he spoke up with an inquiring tone, "Who's the girl whom Sephiroth had killed?"

"I'm sure he killed a lot of girls… maybe almost Tifa too," Barret pointed out.

Rufus nodded. "I know… I saw her scar…" he thought silently, not wanting them to know that he had seen her scar already… "I meant, the Ancient." He pointed out.

"Oh, you mean Aerith Gainsborough? Man, that Strife's crazy about that darn foo'… I guess… cuz when that girl died, that darn foo' really started to act so weird after he beat Sephiroth. He kept starin' up at the night sky, I dunno, countin' the stars or somethin'…" Barret explained with some gestures.

"He mentioned something to me the morning before the Bachelor's party I had last night… it's regarding bringing her back in his life." Rufus explained as he flipped his hair.

"Hah! What's he gonna do, dive down into the fucking lake and get her fucking corpse or something?" Cid asked while laughing.

Rufus, Barret and Vincent stared at him in awe.

Realizing what he had just said, Cid stopped laughing and cleared his throat.

Vincent turned to Barret. "Where's that lake located?" he asked with a serious look on his face.

*** 

            It was already 10:00 pm when Cloud was able to return in their room with a small velvet box. "Aerith," he called out in a sing-song voice as he removed his boots and got into the bed, sitting down beside her. He showed her his left ring finger. "Look at this, Aerith…" he pointed out happily before he opened the box. "And I also got one for you!" he told her happily as he got the ring and threw the box away. With that, he got her left hand and inserted the ring on her left ring finger. "This is the symbol of our love, Aerith," he said lovingly before kissing her hand. "Do you like it?" he asked.

Obviously, no answer.

But he chuckled lightly. "Oh, Aerith…" he said as he lay down beside her and took her in his arms. He sighed heavily. "I love you, Aerith," he whispered against her ear.

Her head drooped down against his neck. "Yes, Aerith… I really love you," he whispered lovingly.

He could feel her body against his and his heart began to beat faster. "Aerith," he began with a gentle tone before he decided to kiss her passionately on the lips.

He wished she could respond and kiss him back with so much passion than his; he also wished that she could embrace him back and tell him how much she loved him…

"But no, she's dead, Strife," he could hear his own conscience telling him that… and so he began to feel so angry with himself. "NO! Aerith is not dead! Aerith is not…" his facial expression softened as he slowly caressed her cheek. "No… you're not dead… you're just sleeping, right? Soon, you'll wake up…" he trailed kisses from her left cheek to her lips as his hands traveled around her again, wrapping her in his arms…

*** 

_…Even if you don't wanna speak tonight,_

_That's alright, alright with me…_

_Coz I want nothing more than to sit outside your door_

_And listen to you breathing;_

_It's where I wanna be…_


	3. three

Breathing

By: General Quistis

Disclaimer: I neither own Final Fantasy VII nor its characters.

Author's Note: Yes, Cloud is insane here so stop accusing me of OOCness. It's part of the story, okay?

______________________________________________________ 

Coz I just wanna be here now… 

*** 

            Cloud slowly opened his eyes when he felt the warm rays of the summer sunshine hit his face. At first he was frantic because he thought that it was all a dream, but when he still felt Aerith against his body, he felt relieved. He smiled gently. "Good morning, Aerith," he said rather sweetly before giving her a kiss on her cheek.

He could clearly imagine her giggling and then saying, "Good morning too, Cloud. Did you sleep well last night?"

"Yes, finally, because I'm with you." He told her sweetly before he embraced her tightly. "Oh, Aerith, I missed you so much," he whispered.

"I missed you too, Cloud," a voice from his head spoke up.

He smiled lovingly at Aerith before he slowly got up and stretched. "Well, it's time," he told her before he went over to his clothes and got dressed. He turned back to Aerith. "I found this wonderful house by the river and it's on top of a small hill. It's like an abandoned mansion but I got it all fixed yesterday so that we could move in there." He told her as he approached her. He made her sit up and stared at her face gently, "Finally, we can start our own family… just you and I and our future little children, Aerith. We're gonna be so happy together…" he began to dress her up.

"You said it's like an abandoned _mansion?" he thought he heard her ask._

"Yeah. It's as big as the ShinRa Mansion in Nibelheim… and don't worry about it, I still have more money than anyone could ever think of from the time when I was still fighting Sephiroth." He told her as he caressed her cheek. "Don't worry, Aerith, I killed that big bully for you. He will never harm you again," he said sweetly as he took her in his arms and embraced her lovingly.

With that, he got up, carried her in his arms, gathered a few of their other stuff and then left the inn.

            Upon arriving at the said place, Cloud instantly placed her inside the masters' bedroom. The place was really big and he was happy to have Aerith there with him. "I don't know if this is your dream house, Aerith, but I really spent a lot for everything! The remodeling and stuff. Everything is for you! I even hired some gardeners for the big garden at the back of this house. I asked them to plant several flowers all over the garden because I know you love flowers. Oh, Aerith, you are going to love that place once it is done!" he said proudly with a happy smile on his face as he sat down on the bed beside her and stared at her beautiful sleeping place.

He heard her giggle. "Oh, Cloud, that is so wonderful! Thank you, Cloud. And I don't care which house I'm in, even if it is just a small shack in the fields… I'll be the happiest wife in the whole world because I have you as my husband." He heard her say despite the closed eyes and the unmoving lips.

He smiled gently as he touched her cheek, feeling its coldness. "I love you, Aerith…" he told her softly before giving her a kiss; and with that, he got up. "Well, I'll just be going around and checking on the other parts of this house. I'll be back later on. You just stay here and rest, okay?" he told her before leaving the room.

            "You gotta be kidding me! I ain't divin' in that @#$%$# lake!" Cid snapped at his other companions.

"But  someone's gotta dive in there!" Yuffie pointed out.

All eyes turned to Vincent. He just looked away from them.

"Well someone's gotta do the damn job. We need to see if the body is still there!" Barret pointed out.

"Ew! Well what if the body has already rotted and fish already ate it?" Yuffie asked.

"There are no fish in there." Vincent pointed out.

Red XIII sniffed the water before nodding. "Yes, there are no fish in here…" he declared.

"That's strange…" Yuffie said softly before approaching the water. She sighed heavily after staring at it for long time. "Alright, I'll do it!" she said with a determined look on her face before taking off her boots and then dived into the lake.

They waited for a long time, watching Yuffie emerging again and again on the surface of the lake before diving down again.

"You think Cloud really lost his noodle and…" Cid couldn't continue anymore.

"That is so disgusting! That darn foo' cannot just lose his sanity just for the sake of lovin' that girl!" Barret snapped.

"People tend to do the craziest things when they're in-love…" Vincent pointed out.

"Oh man… that's the stupidest crap I ever heard of, Vincent," Cid told him.

Vincent just sat down on one of the big rocks near the lake and waited for Yuffie.

After a few more minutes, they saw Yuffie emerging out into the surface and gasped for breath. She was panting hard and she looked frightened.

"You found anything?" Barret asked.

Yuffie couldn't answer. She just swam back to the shore with a disturbed expression on her face. Barret helped her stand up.

"Well?" he asked.

She was still panting before handing the White Materia to Barret.

"@#$%!!!!! te Materia to Barret.

ding the White Materia to Barret. ino e and gasped for breath. e before diving down again.

at shThat was with Cloud, right?!" Cid asked in disbelief.

"Yeah… but… Yuffie, did you see anything else?" Barret asked.

She shook her head. "No. I've already reached the deepest part of the lake and searched quickly, but that's the only thing that I found." She replied.

"What if Cloud just got her out of the lake and gave her a proper burial?" Vincent suggested.

"Oh right, like he's still sane enough to do that?!" Cid told him.

"I sense something bad about this place… like Cloud really did something stupid…" Red XIII told them before sniffing the ground. "I can still smell them." He told them.

"Really? Where did they go?" Barret asked.

Red XIII continued to sniff. "It's hard to determine… but I think we need to go to the nearest town from here and let Yuffie rest for a while." He suggested.

"Yeah. Thanks, Yuffie. Can you walk?" Barret asked her.

"Yeah… I can manage. Heehee! Can I have that materia?" she asked, referring to the White Materia.

Barret handed the material to Vincent. "I'm afraid not." He told her with a silly smile on his face before they proceeded to follow Red XIII.

Yuffie snorted before she started to quickly put on her boots and then caught up with them.

***

_…I bet you're tired of me waiting for the scraps to fall off from your table to the ground…_

_Lalalalalalalalala…_

_Coz I just wanna be here now…_

***

            Cloud was eating his dinner alone in the dining hall of the big mansion, his new home that he bought for himself and his beloved Aerith. He had this blank look on his face but his blue eyes revealed too much happiness. "Finally, I can be at peace… no one will bother me anymore. The hell I care about the others?" he thought silently.

At around five in the afternoon moments ago, he dismissed the gardeners and the housekeepers, so at present, he was already alone in there…

With Aerith still inside the Masters' chamber, lying still on the bed.

While finishing his dinner, several things whirled around his head…emotions spurred from his heart. Hatred. Vengeance. Selfishness and love.

Lust.

He shook his head frantically, his eyes widening in sudden fear as he grasped his own head tightly and breathing hard. He clenched his teeth. "No… I'll never be alone anymore! Aerith is here! Aerith is here!" he said out loud before standing up and rushing up the stairs to the second floor.

He calmed down once he reached their bedroom. The insane look on his face faded away as he stared at her beautiful face that was being illuminated by the moonlight coming from outside the window. Cloud, upon noticing this, realized that he had left the window wide open and the cold evening air was present inside the room, making it cold. "Oh no…" he felt his heart sinking as he switched on the lamplight before rushing to the window and then closed it and then the curtains afterwards.

He sighed heavily, shivering from the cold. He turned back to her with an apologetic look on his face. "Oh no… I'm so sorry, Aerith," he whispered softly as he rushed to her, noticing the paleness of her face.

He climbed on their bed and lied down beside her, covering themselves with the thick blanket. He embraced her tightly. "Are you still cold?" he whispered softly.

He leaned his head closer to hers until his forehead touched hers. He breathed in her lovely flowery scent and it made him smile softly. "Oh, Aerith…I'm so happy that you're here… did you know how many nights I've spent and I was so lonely I couldn't even breathe?" he told her sweetly.

"Oh, Cloud, hush now. I know everything. But I feel your pain… because I've been lonely too, you know?" he thought he heard her speak softly to him.

He chuckled lightly. "You will never leave me again, will you?" he asked as he touched her cheek gently.

"No, Cloud. I won't."

He sighed heavily before closing his eyes.

The room was silent for a few seconds, and the only sound that he could hear were the crickets chirping outside.

"You will always be here with me, Aerith. We will be together forever and no one else will keep us apart…" he said softly before giving her a sweet kiss on the lips.

"Oh Cloud,"

"Aerith…" he whispered softly against her lips.

***


	4. four

Breathing

By: General Quistis

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            "Ten months and still no sign of him…" Tifa said softly.

The whole room was silent.

"Maybe he is hiding." Rufus suggested.

"But why would he hide?" she asked with a worried look on her face.

They were interrupted when their baby started to cry.

Tifa got up from the chair and rushed to her son, scooping him up in her arms from the cradle and then rocking him gently. She started to sing a sweet song to the child.

Rufus smiled as he watched them, admiring his family. "He got your eyes." He told her. 

Tifa smiled proudly at him. "Which makes him more handsome that his father! Heehee!" she said jokingly while giggling.

He got up and looked around the nursery. "You think we need to repaint his room?" he asked.

"No, I think the white wallpaper is cute with the red carpet." She told him with a silly smile on her face.

"What if she he up and he hates red?" he asked cautiously.

"Then that's when you tell the Turks to repaint this room." She said before proceeding to sing.

Rufus approached her and offered to put the baby to sleep. She handed the baby to him and he cradled the baby in his arms gently while singing a lullaby.

She sighed heavily. "He's so adorable, Rufus." She said adoringly as she gazed lovingly at their son.

He just smiled while he continued to sing.

In no time, the baby was asleep again. Rufus gently placed his son back in the cradle before going to Tifa. "It's late." He told her in a whispery tone.

She nodded and gave him a kiss before he led the way out of the nursery back to their room.

            "President Rufus! President Rufus!!!" Elena called out frantically as she knocked repeatedly on the door of the master's bedroom of the ShinRa Mansion.

Rufus immediately got up with a sleepy and annoyed look on his face. "What now?!" he demanded angrily.

Tifa sleepily opened her eyes before gazing at the clock, seeing that it was already 6:00 in the morning.

Rufus opened the door with a threatening look on his face. He wondered why Elena looked so frantic and Heidegger was also rushing to the scene.

"Gyah! President Rufus!" he called out.

"What's going on?" Tifa asked as she got out of bed.

"Sir, your son! The cradle is empty!" Elena announced.

"Wh…what?" Tifa asked as she went to Elena.

"What do you mean the cradle is empty?" Rufus demanded with a stunned look on his face.

"I went to check on him this morning like I always do…and I saw that the window was open and he wasn't there anymore!" Elena explained.

"Oh my God!" Tifa exclaimed before pushing them aside so that she could run to the nursery. Upon arriving there, she saw that the room still looked pleasant and quiet. She slowly approached the cradle while praying quietly, "Please… let it be another of Elena's jokes…" she stopped and her eyes widened in shock before screaming.

"Tifa!" Rufus rushed to her and joined her, looking at the cradle. His eyes widened in confusion as he embraced his wife to calm her down while still keeping his eyes on the empty cradle. 

Elena, Heidegger, Scarlet, Reno and Rude entered the scene. Rufus turned to them with an enraged look on his face. "Search the whole Mansion and send out the search troops all over Nibelheim and the whole world! If you find the kidnapper, take him to Junon and execute him immediately!" he commanded angrily.

"Sir, yes sir!" they all said nervously before running off.

            The gardener who was watering the flowers by the gate was surprised upon seeing his master arriving with a baby in his arms.

Cloud kept on walking while humming a happy tune, his head grooving slightly to it.

The gardener smiled weakly. "Uhm… good morning, Mister Strife." He greeted nervously.

Cloud nodded his head in greeting, "Good morning. Keep up the good work. Aerith loves those flowers. Make sure they don't die." He told him before entering through the gate.

"Don't mind me asking sir, but… who is the child?" the gardener asked curiously.

The baby started to cry. Cloud's face lit up in excitement. "Oh, you woke him up!" he told the gardener before he started to hush the baby and then rocked it gently in his arms. Cloud then turned to the gardener and smiled proudly. "This is my son, Sora. Isn't he adorable?" he asked proudly.

"Sora?" the gardener asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Aerith and I finally have a son!" Cloud said happily.

"Uhm… is Mrs. Strife still in the hospital? I never knew she was pregnant." The gardener said casually… he actually doesn't know what else to say to Cloud. For one thing, he and the other servants thought that their master was insane. They would see him constantly talking to himself and he would say that he has a wife named Aerith… but they never met her nor seen her. Cloud doesn't even like the servants to be roaming around on the second floor of the Mansion, so they never clean it… and it was already beginning to get dusty and dirty.

Cloud simply smiled at him. "She gave birth a month ago. I just took the baby for a walk to get some fresh air since Aerith is still weak." He said before walking back to the Mansion while still hushing the baby.

Upon reaching the bedroom, he smiled excitedly. "Aerith! Look! It's our son, Sora!" he said happily as he rushed to her. He sat down on the bed and showed her the baby boy. "He's so adorable." He told her.

The baby began to cry again.

"Oh, why are you crying?" Cloud asked out loud, cradling the child in his arms again. From somewhere, he thought he could hear Aerith singing a gentle lullaby to the baby boy.

He joined in the singing and soon, the baby was asleep. He slowly got up and smiled at Aerith. "Well then, I'll just put him in his nursery." He said before going out of the room. 

He entered the room two doors from theirs and placed the baby in a cradle with blue and white lace and pillows. He chuckled lightly before caressing the baby's face. "Better tell the servants to buy some milk for you, my dear Sora." He said softly before leaving the room.

***

            "Why would anyone even kidnap Tifa and Rufus's son?" Yuffie asked frantically.

"Because it's the presidential son. Maybe they want some money from them." Barret pointed out.

"But they didn't leave a ransom note!" Yuffie said.

"Maybe they'll call later." Barret said while scanning the whole nursery.

"But it's been five weeks already ever since the incident." Yuffie reasoned out.

Rufus entered, interrupting them. "Thank you for dropping by, but I'm so sorry, you still can't talk to Tifa," he told them apologetically.

"That's okay. We heard what happened so we rushed over here to check on her." Vincent told him.

"I came all the way from Wutai just to see if everything's alright." Yuffie explained.

"Is Teef going to be okay?" Barret asked with a worried look on his face.

"She's still… in a state of shock. But the doctor says she'll be fine." Rufus said hesitantly.

Silence.

"So, any sign of Theodore?" Vincent asked, interrupting the silence.

Rufus shook his head sadly, though he still looked serious. He did not want anyone else to know that he still felt so bad because of the incident. "They can't find him." He said. He flipped his hair before turning to his pet, Dark Nation, who just entered, meowing at him.

He patted the panther's head before it went over to Vincent, sniffing him before rubbing its head against his leg. Vincent smiled slightly. "Is this your pet?" he asked.

"Yes. At least she keeps Tifa happy even for a little while. I let her sleep inside our room to keep her company. It serves as a diversion so that Tifa wouldn't cry anymore." Rufus explained.

Vincent suddenly remembered something. "Oh… we found this in the lake." He told Rufus, getting the White materia from his pocket and giving it to Rufus. 

Rufus stared at it. "What is this?" he asked.

"The White Materia. It used to be Aerith's. Cloud kept it all these years after she died. He must've dropped it accidentally in the lake when he got her out of there." Vincent explained.

Rufus clenched his fist around it before putting it inside his pocket. "I'll just keep it." He told them.

Dark Nation stopped purring and her tail became bushy as she snarled upon seeing the cradle.

All eyes turned to her.

"What's wrong with her?" Yuffie asked curiously.

Dark Nation slowly approached the cradle and sniffed it a couple of times before snarling again.

"I think she was able to determine who the kidnapper is." Vincent pointed out as he examined the panther's actions. "Is this the first time that Dark Nation was able to come here in this room?" he continued with a curious look on his face.

Rufus nodded. "She's always with Tifa to keep her company while I'm in Midgar in my office the whole day." He told them.

"Foo'! How the hell are we gonna find out who it is? As if that cat can talk!" Barret snapped.

"Red XIII! He can speak animal language, I'm sure! Heehee! He can talk to Dark Nation!" Yuffie said excitedly while jumping up and down happily.

"But… where is he?" Barret asked.

Silence.

"Cosmo Canyon." Vincent stated flatly.

Rufus rolled his eyes with a deep frown on his face. "I'll get the chopper ready." He announced.

=============================== 

to be continued.

=)

Author's Notes: HAH! I don't know what name I'll give to the child so I just did some recycling and named him _Theodore. And yeah, I know that the name __Sora came from Kingdom Hearts. ^^ Don't you think that the real Sora (the one with blue eyes and brown hair from the game __Kingdom Hearts) seems to be like Cloud and Aerith's son? ^^ C'mon, look at the features! ^o^ Ohohohoho._

Geh… -.-' *insane laughter* Mwahahahahahahaha!


	5. five

Breathing

By General Quistis

================================================ 

_Coz I just wanna be here now…_

*** 

            He stopped kissing her when he heard the cries of Sora.

"Man… talk about interruptions," he told her with a joking tone.

"Why don't you go to him and calm him down? He must be hungry, Cloud."

Cloud smiled sweetly at her before giving her another kiss. "I'll do that, Aerith," he responded before get out of bed and put on his clothes before leaving the room and headed for the nursery.

The whole hallway was very dark but Cloud was able to reach the nursery without any trouble. "There, there, Sora," he began as he stepped inside the room and approached the cradle. He carefully scooped up the baby in his arms and began to feed it with a bottle of milk that was just on the small table beside the window. The baby stopped crying as it began to drink the milk hungrily.

"You're always hungry, you know that?" Cloud told him.

Sora just looked up at him with his crimson eyes… but Cloud could see another color: blue.

"Well, well, you got my blue eyes, huh?" Cloud said proudly before chuckling in delight. He gently stroked Sora's blonde hair. "Better not be a ladies' man when you grow up, you hear? And you should always take care of that brown hair of yours, okay?" he asked.

Sora cooed a little.

After Sora had finished the contents of the whole bottle, Cloud returned him in the cradle. After doing so, he just watched him drift off to sleep.

Cloud had never felt so happy in his whole life. Finally, he was contented. A pleased smile on his face could be seen even as he returned to his own room.

"Is he alright?"

"Yes, Aerith. He's alright. He's just hungry, just like what you said." Cloud told her as he climbed back on the bed and took her in his arms, embracing her tightly. "I thought I lost you and Sora before…" he told her gently.

"Oh, Cloud, no! We were always here for you."

"But you'll never leave me again, right?" he asked with a tone that seemed to be pleading.

"Hmm… of course not. We're a family now…"

He gently caressed her face. "I love you, Aerith."

"I love you too, Cloud."

With that, he kissed her…

            The next day, he decided to fix some of his things. That's when he realized that the White Materia wasn't there anymore.

"Shit…" he thought silently.

"What's wrong, Cloud?"

He turned back to her with a disappointed look on his face. "The… the White Materia. It's not here anymore…" he told her.

"What?"

"Please don't get mad at me! I'll look for it, I promise," he told her reassuringly.

"Oh, Cloud, I'm not mad at you! It doesn't matter! It's just Materia. We can live without it. Besides, life is peaceful here already." 

He shook his head. "No, I think I'd better look for it. You know Yuffie, she likes those things; maybe she stole it from me. Besides, it belongs to you." He told her with a weak smile on his face.

"Or maybe you dropped it in the lake?"

He nodded. "You're right… Well, I'd better get going now. I have to go to the lake and then find Yuffie just in case it's not there." He told her.

"What time are you coming back?"

"I'll be back here in a hurry, don't worry, Aerith." He said before approaching the bed. He stroked her hair gently before giving her a kiss. "I'll see you," he told her.

"Take care, Cloud. I don't want anything bad happening to you. Don't worry; I'll take care of Sora while you're away."

He smiled at her. "Thank you, Aerith." He told her before waving goodbye and then left.

            Red XIII stared unbelievably at the party standing before him consisting of Vincent Valentine, Barret Wallace… and two unexpected: Rufus ShinRa and Dark Nation, his pet.

"Well… it's been quite a while since I last saw you fellows. What brought you here for a visit?" Red XIII asked curiously.

"Meowrrr," Dark Nation responded.

Red XIII turned his gaze to her.

"Please, Red, we need your help. Rufus and Tifa's son has been kidnapped weeks ago and they still couldn't find him. Dark Nation was able to find out who it was but unfortunately, we can't understand her language… so…" Barret began.

"Meowrrrr," Dark Nation repeated.

Red XIII looked up at them with a clueless expression on his face. "How come she keeps on saying Cloud's name?" he asked.

"What?" Rufus demanded.

"Cloud?" Barret asked.

"Meowrrrrrr!!!" Dark Nation responded with a snarl.

"There she goes again," Red XIII pointed out.

Rufus clenched his fists. "The hell?! You mean Cloud Strife kidnapped my son?!" he snapped impatiently.

"Looks and sounds like it," Vincent muttered, hardly believing it.

"Why would he even kidnap your son?" Red XIII asked.

"Red, could you come back with us to Nibelheim? I think we're gonna need you to help us find Cloud." Barret said.

"Well… I don't know…" Red XIII hesitated.

"Free dog food exclusively from ShinRa," Vincent told him.

Red XIII glared at him ridiculously. "I don't need dog food. Well okay, I'll just go with you fellows if it means so much to you all." He decided.

"Good, let's go." Rufus said, leading the way back to the chopper, his eyes revealing to them that he was really angry and confused.

"I think one of you should pilot the chopper back to Nibelheim and not let Rufus do it." Red XIII told them.

"Why?" Barret asked.

"He's enraged. He might just crash us into a tree or something due to too much anger." Red explained.

"Foo'… I'll just do it…" Barret muttered miserably before going after Rufus.

            Cloud got out of the lake, panting hard. "No… it's not there…" he thought frantically, his eyes were wide in panic and confusion. He clenched his fists as he started to walk back on the road. "That little ninja got it for sure… she got it for sure!" he said angrily out loud.

            Tifa switched off the TV and sighed heavily.

"Why'd you turn it off? I was watching that!" Yuffie wailed.

"It's just a kiddie show, Yuffie." Tifa pointed out.

"No, it's not." Yuffie argued.

Tifa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever." She said miserably.

Silence.

"Do you have any suspects on whoever did it?" Yuffie asked curiously.

"I don't know… rebels?" Tifa asked mindlessly. She clenched her fists. "I'm going to murder the person who did it… I'm worried about my son's situation… like if he's eating right or not… or if he's sick…" she looked up at the ceiling with a desperate look on her face, "…or if he's still alive," she whispered softly, trying to stop her tears.

"Oh, Tifa, don't worry about him… I'm sure Theodore is okay," Yuffie said, giving her friend a comforting hug.

Tifa smiled bitterly and sighed heavily as she embraced her friend too. "Thanks for being here, Yuffie." She said.

"Hey, what are friends for?" Yuffie asked playfully before letting go of her. "Now, cheer up, you hear? I don't like Rufus looking so worried about you…he scares me!" she said with a creepy look on her face.

Tifa laughed at her. "Oh, his usual poker-faced expression? He does that to hide his true feelings. I'll bet he's even angrier and more worried than I am," she explained.

Then, Yuffie remembered something. "Tifa," she began.

"Yeah?" Tifa asked.

Yuffie's facial expression turned serious. "You think Cloud really got Aerith's body from that lake?" she asked.

"Well… Barret told me that he really did… and you also found the White Materia there. He must've dropped it accidentally, right?" Tifa asked.

"Vincent handed it over to Rufus yesterday before they left for Cosmo Canyon." Yuffie explained.

Tifa suddenly felt nervous. "I'm worried about Cloud… that Materia once belonged to Aerith… what if he comes looking for it and then blames one of us for stealing it?" she asked.

"Oh man! Are you saying that I'm his first target in case he blames one of us?! GAWDS!" Yuffie cried out in awe.

They were interrupted when they heard some commotion downstairs. "What's going on?" Tifa asked out loud before she got up.

"Tifa, you stay here, I'll go check," Yuffie said.

"No, I'm coming with you. I'm okay now." Tifa insisted before she led the way downstairs. She froze upon reaching the stairs, seeing that there were dead Soldiers on the floor. She gasped.

"OH MY GAWD!!!" Yuffie cried out in shock.

Tifa covered her mouth and took a step backward, but she stopped when she noticed that someone was standing behind her.

She turned to Yuffie but she was standing beside her. Her eyes widened in sudden fear before slowly turning to the person behind her. She gasped. "Cloud!"

Yuffie jumped up and moved away with a cautious look on her face.

Cloud had this deranged look on his face as they noticed that he was still dripping wet with water.

"C…Cloud, what a surprise… what are you doing here?" Tifa asked, trying to sound casual.

"The White Materia? Where is it?" he demanded.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about," Tifa began nervously.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, making her cry out in pain. "Bullshit, Tifa! Why do you always have to lie to me!" he yelled at her.

"Wh…what?" she asked in awe.

He laughed at her. "You lied to me before so that you can drive me away from Aerith! You bitch!" Cloud snapped angrily at her.

"Cloud, let me go, you're hurting me," she pleaded, trying to push him away from her, but he was too strong. There was something wrong with his eyes… they suddenly looked so scary… like he was already as insane as Sephiroth at that moment. It scared her.

"Cloud, let her go!" Yuffie went over to them and tried to push him away from Tifa.

"I heard you and Yuffie conversing a while ago… the Materia is with Rufus! Where is Rufus?" Cloud demanded.

"I don't know!" Tifa screamed at him.

"Yes, you do! That bastard's supposed to be dead! He's supposed to be dead! You're supposed to be alone too! You don't deserve him! You deserve to be alone forever!!! Why is he here?! Why is he here?! And Aerith is not?! HAH?!" he demanded angrily before he pushed her down the stairs.

"NO!" Yuffie cried out in shock. She turned back to Cloud. "Why did you do that?!" she screamed at him.

Tifa landed on the first floor with a loud thud. She felt so numb and blood was coming out from her nose and mouth. She listened as Cloud began to say some nasty things to Yuffie… unfortunately, she couldn't think clearly because she felt so numb and dizzy due to the fall.

She looked up at them again who were still on top of the stairs. Cloud already had his sword drawn and ready to fight with Yuffie.

"N…no… Cloud…" Tifa struggled to say as she clenched her fists and struggled to stand up. She grabbed the banister for support as she proceeded to stand up, keeping her angry gaze at Cloud… and she saw something. Her eyes widened in surprise and she gasped slightly upon seeing a figure standing behind Cloud.

It was embracing Cloud from behind him like it was stopping him.

Cloud was about to start attacking Yuffie, but he stopped. His eyes suddenly became blank.

"Cloud, come home… I'm scared…"

"Aerith?" he whispered.

Yuffie blinked. "Wh…what?" she said in awe.

"Aerith?" Cloud looked up, as if searching for the voice. "Aerith?!" he cried out with a gentle tone. He was suddenly smiling.

Tifa watched quietly in awe.

The figure was gone.

Then Cloud suddenly came rushing down the stairs and out the door, leaving the two girls there.

"Ma'am!"

That's when the Turks came into the scene, rushing over to Tifa.

Elena and Reno helped her, but she pushed them away. "Get away from me!" she snapped angrily at them before staggering towards the door.

Yuffie rushed to her. "Where are you going?!" she asked.

"I'm following him!" Tifa declared with an angry look on her face.

"But Tifa, you're injured!" Yuffie pointed out.

"Ma'am, we'll just follow him for you!" Elena declared.

"Damn it! Where were you two when Cloud was here?" Tifa asked helplessly, her eyes revealing that she was already tired.

"He locked us up in the kitchen. We tried to break out but we couldn't. Rude just decided to break the glass on the door…" Reno explained.

"Well stop talking and follow them!" Tifa commanded.

The Turks imagined that she was already beginning to sound like Rufus, but they just shook the funny thought away and went off.

Tifa was already gasping for breath.

Yuffie assisted her. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Aerith… why are you letting this happen to Cloud?" Tifa whispered as her tears fell from her crimson eyes. Yuffie noticed that Tifa seemed to be talking to someone… she was looking towards the window. Yuffie followed Tifa's gaze and her eyes widened upon seeing a figure standing against the light.

She even thought that they heard some familiar playful giggles.

Tifa finally collapsed to the ground, driving Yuffie's attention away from the figure. "Tifa!" she said, kneeling down beside her friend.

She heard the giggles once more, but when she turned to the window again, the figure was gone. Yuffie looked around and the place was too quiet, like no one else was there. She shivered. "Eww… ghosts…" she muttered.

---------------------------------------------------------- 

to be continued. Mwahahahahaha. Please, please, please! Por favor, señors y señoritas… I need reviews… ;_;


	6. six

Breathing

By: General Quistis

---------------------------------------------- 

            Rude, Reno and Elena stared at the big mansion unbelievably. "He lives here?!" Reno asked in awe.

It was already late afternoon when they finally reached that place, but they did not come near it. They just hid themselves behind some bushes a little bit far from the Mansion.

"He doesn't look like the kind of person who would be owning a big place such as this one… you sure he didn't steal it or something?" Elena asked in disbelief.

"He has his own money… maybe it did the trick." Reno pointed out.

"So what now? Are we going to arrest him or something?" Rude asked.

"No. We need to do some investigating on our own. Tifa didn't tell us to do anything, just follow him. We need to verify our evidence first. Remember that I told you guys that maybe Cloud was the one who kidnapped the ShinRa brat?" Reno asked them.

The two nodded.

They watched quietly as some servants and gardeners exited the gate.

"Those are our targets. We approach some of them. Just play along and I'll lead," Reno told them before he got up.

The two others followed from behind him.

Reno led the way to the people walking down the road. "Hey, good afternoon, folks!" he greeted rather cheerfully.

The people stopped and stared strangely at him and at his two other companions.

He cleared his throat. "Uhm… listen, my friends and I seem to be lost. We're supposed to be attending a conference in the next town but it's getting rather late we still haven't eaten our lunch and we're really tired and exhausted… do you know a place where we can spend the night?" he asked.

"Well, the town is pretty far from here. We all live there." One of the servants explained.

Reno turned to the big house before turning back to them. "You all work for that house?" he asked.

"Oh yes, mister. But Sir Strife doesn't want us to stay around, so we all go home after our work is finished in the afternoon and then come back in the morning." One of the gardeners replied.

"Strife? Is he an oil tycoon?!" Elena asked with an excited look on her face, acting innocent.

"Uhm… we're not even sure if he has a job. He would always spend time inside with his wife…" the gardener replied.

"Wife?" Rude asked in awe.

"He calls her _Aerith_… but we haven't even seen her, not once." The gardener said.

They all fell silent.

"You think Mister Strife will let us sleep in there?" Reno asked.

"We are not sure, sir. But... just to warn you, he is rather strange." One of the servants said.

"Strange in what sense?" Elena asked.

"Well… oftentimes, we'd hear him talking to himself… and he wouldn't let us go up to the second floor of the mansion like he's hiding something there." 

"Hiding something?" Reno thought silently as he exchanged serious glances with Elena and Rude before turning back to the people with a slight smile on his face. "Oh well… thanks anyway… but are they the only ones living there? Don't they have a daughter or a son or…"

"A son… Sora. The baby looks strange though… I've seen Sora once because Mister Strife brought him down to me in the kitchen and asked me to feed him while he attends to Mrs. Strife. He even said that the baby has brown hair, while it's very clear that the baby has blonde hair!" The chef explained.

"What do you mean, the baby looks strange?" Elena asked curiously.

"Well… it has reddish eyes. Blonde hair… and… well, he doesn't really resemble Mr. Strife… and what made me think was the fact that Mr. Strife kept on insisting that the baby has blue eyes whenever I'm asking him about the reddish eyes." The chef told her.

"Reddish eyes?" Rude asked, getting his wallet. He pulled out a picture of Tifa from inside and showed it to the chef. "You mean like this one?" he asked.

"Hey, why do you have her picture there?" Reno teased.

Rude just ignored him and waited for the chef's answer.

The chef nodded. "Why… yes… but isn't she the First Lady?" he asked.

"No, it's just a look-alike." Rude replied.

"Well, we'd better leave now. It's getting dark." Elena said, grabbing Rude and Reno's hands and dragging them with her back to the bushes. The servants left.

"Why'd you tell him that it's just a look-alike?" Reno asked.

"If I said yes, they might think that Tifa's having an affair with Cloud and that kid is their son. Remember that Cloud has blonde hair too. They might start some gossip and you know how we ShinRa people hate gossip." Rude explained before returning the picture inside his wallet. "Oh yeah, answer to your question, Reno: I have the pictures of everyone from ShinRa, even yours and Elena… even President Rufus himself. It's just for emergency purposes such as this one." Rude explained.

"Oh… I thought you still had this crush on her. Heheh." Reno joked.

Elena turned back to the mansion. It looked creepy with the setting sun illuminating it. "Gee… we need to get inside that mansion…" she told them.

"But how? That Strife guy's gone nuts! He even kidnapped the Prez's son and treated it like his own!" Reno pointed out.

"But we need to get the baby!" Elena insisted.

"Elena, that guy's dangerous we need back-up! Let's go back to Nibelheim first and see if President Rufus has arrived from Cosmo Canyon." Reno insisted.

Elena sighed heavily. "Well… are you saying that we Turks are not capable of defending ourselves from that insane guy?" she asked.

"You've seen how insane Sephiroth is, who knows, Cloud could be like that too. We need back-up on this." Reno explained.

"Well then, let's go back to Nibelheim now before it gets completely dark," Rude told them.

            Tifa slowly opened her eyes and saw that it was already 10 in the evening. She turned to the person seated on the couch by the bed and realized that it was Rufus. He has returned.

But he was asleep.

"Poor Ruffy… he must be tired…" she thought quietly before she decided to slowly get up despite the pain she felt all throughout her body. She got out of bed and got dressed. She had to admit, she still felt weak, but she knew that she needed to do something.

She got dressed in her old attire, and she still looked good with it. She smiled at herself as she looked at her reflection on the mirror despite the bandage on her forehead. With that, she put on her gloves, got some of her Materia and equipped herself quickly with it.

She tiptoed her way to Rufus, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before going out of the room.

            "But… Tifa, are you sure about what you're doing?" Vincent asked.

"Meowrrr," Dark Nation followed beside Tifa.

Tifa just nodded her head.

"Mrs. ShinRa, are you sure you're alright?" Elena asked.

"I'm fine. I just fell down the stairs, that's all. Now, lead the way to that mansion you're talking about, Elena," Tifa told her with a reassuring smile on her face.

"Hey,"

They all stopped walking upon hearing a hard tone from behind them.

Tifa turned around and jerked up in surprise. "R…Rufus?" she said.

"Where are you going?" he asked seriously.

She thought for a while before answering, "I'm taking our son back here where he belongs,"

He was quiet for a while before nodding his head. "In that condition?" he asked.

She nodded slightly.

He joined them, taking her hand in his. "Let's take my car with us. It's a long walk going there."

============================================= 

TBC. Nyaks…


	7. seven

Breathing

By: General Quistis

=============================================== 

-Seven-

_Coz I want nothing more than sit outside heaven's door_

_And listen to you breathing…_

_It's where I wanna be…_

*** 

            Cloud heard the baby crying. He slowly opened his blue eyes and gazed blankly into the darkness of the room, and then wearily turned his gaze to Aerith's face. He smiled gently. "He's hungry again," he said with a gentle tone.

"Well then I think you should go to him and feed him now, dear."

He smiled and gave her a kiss. "You wait here, okay?" he asked before he got up from the bed, stretched and then headed outside, going to the nursery.

As he was walking, he realized that the baby stopped crying. It made him feel suspicious. "What the…" he thought silently, frowning. His heart began to beat faster as he hurried to the nursery. He opened the door, gazed inside with wide eyes, scanning the whole area. 

He turned his gaze to the cradle as he walked to it, but when he approached, he suddenly felt relieved to see that the baby was still there.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes, Aerith, everything's alright." Cloud called out with a relieved smile on his face.

He turned back to the baby and stroked its blonde hair. "You had us worried back there, Sora. Don't you ever scare mommy and daddy again, okay?" he asked gently.

He was so preoccupied with the baby that he did not even notice the person sneaking up behind him with a shotgun… until he felt the metal against the back of his head.

He froze.

"Stay away from my son," sneered an angry masculine voice from behind him.

Cloud's eyes grew wide in shock. "Rufus…" he sneered.

The lights switched on and Cloud saw through his peripheral vision that Elena was there by the door. He turned to the window and saw that Tifa was there, glaring angrily at him; while standing just in front of him on the opposite side of the cradle was Vincent.

Cloud smiled happily at them, "Well, it's nice of you guys to drop by here. Would you like some tea downstairs?" he asked.

Vincent aimed his gun at Cloud's forehead… but the blonde guy still had this smile on his face. Vincent narrowed his eyes on Cloud. "You've gone insane." He pointed out.

"What are you talking about?" Cloud asked innocently.

It scared Tifa as she stared at him in disgust. He looked horrible… his hair was too disheveled and his face looked like he really needed to shave to get rid of the stubble and the dirt…

What perplexed them all was the disgusting smell of something rotting… and they wondered if it is coming from Cloud too.

"Why did you get Theodore?" Rufus demanded.

"Theodore? Who's Theodore?" Cloud asked, turning to face Rufus with an innocent look on his face.

Rufus put down his shotgun. "The baby in that cradle is Theodore. He's my son." He said.

Cloud's eyes widened as he gasped, frowning at them. "NO! You are mistaken! This is my son, Sora! You see?" he took a peek inside the cradle, admiring the baby with a gentle smile on his face. He suddenly looked calm. "He looks just like me and Aerith… brown hair… blue eyes…" he began.

Tifa covered her mouth to stop herself from gasping. Her friend has gone crazy.

"Cloud," Rufus began, trying to sound patient, though deep inside, he was already furious and is ready to shoot Cloud anytime soon.

Cloud turned back to him. "You mentioned you have a son named Theodore? Where is he? Maybe Sora would like to meet him?" he asked with a smile on his face.

Rufus just stared blankly at Cloud while Vincent slowly and carefully lifted Theodore from the cradle and took a step backward, ready to jump off the window.

"Well… is Sora a good boy?" Rufus asked casually with a sarcastic look on his face.

Cloud nodded proudly. "Of course! Aerith and I love him very much! He is well-behaved… just like his mother," he said.

"Aerith?" Tifa repeated.

"Uh-huh." Cloud nodded, then his face turned solemn as he looked at Rufus. "You know, I've been waiting for so long to have Aerith and my son by my side again…" he began.

Tifa signaled for Vincent to jump off the window as she approached Cloud, so the moment her old friend turned to look at her, Vincent and the baby were not there anymore. "Y…you mean… you and Aerith already had a baby… before?" she asked, hardly believing it.

Cloud turned his gaze to her. "It was supposed to be a secret, you know? It all started… at the night at the Gold Saucer. We had a date, remember? Aerith and I? Remember, Tifa, it took so long for us to return?" he asked with a playful smile on his face.

She stared unbelievably at him, feeling so stunned.

He frowned at her. "Why? You jealous?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No. I'm not… but…" she could not comprehend whether what he was telling her was true or not.

Cloud narrowed his eyes at her, "But then Sephiroth had to ruin everything by killing her… and of all places where he's going to stab her, why through her womb!" he snapped angrily, surprising Elena, Rufus and Tifa because of his sudden mood swing.

"Maybe because he knew." Tifa mocked with a sly smile on her face.

"And then you also had to ruin everything! Telling me those goddamn lies! Gods, Tifa… you are the most unpleasant girl I've ever known! You're just jealous because I loved Aerith and I just loved you as a sister!" he snapped angrily at her. He instantly got his sword, ready to use it against Tifa… but she took a step backward, preparing herself for battle. She clenched her fists as she stared angrily at him. "I'm sorry, Cloud. I thought I could have you back then, but I was so damn wrong. Thank goodness for Rufus, I realized that I was so stupid to think that I was even in-love with a crazy person like you!" she snapped at him.

He was ready to swing his sword at Tifa, but Rufus immediately shot his right hand, causing him to drop his sword to the floor.

"That is enough." He told Cloud.

Cloud pulled out the bullet from his hand and threw it aside. He was bleeding but he did not care. He bent down to pick up his sword again… but this time, he was trembling; trembling in rage. "You ShinRas started it all! If your damn father didn't give Hojo the permission to start the JENOVA project, this wouldn't have happened! There would be no Sephiroth to prevent me from loving Aerith! And we'd be happier than we are right now!" he snapped at them angrily.

"Aerith is dead!" Rufus told him.

"No she's not!" Cloud's facial expression softened as tears glistened in his eyes. "How could you say that, Rufus? She's still alive! You're going to hurt her feelings… she's still alive and I love her very much!" he said solemnly.

"You call _that_ love?! You're insane!" Tifa snapped at him.

He turned his gaze to her, glaring at her angrily, "WHAT'S SO WRONG WITH LOVING A PERSON TOO MUCH?! You just don't know how it feels like to lose someone you love! You don't know what it feels like to have your beloved killed in front of you! You don't know how I felt when Sephiroth killed her… and you don't know how I cried secretly each and every night, grieving for her death and not being able to get over her… and then I knew I had to do something…" Cloud wiped his tears away before turning to Rufus with a gentle smile on his face, "… I had to have her back because I love her… it made me feel so empty to see you and Tifa happy together… because every lover out there would make me sick! I would think, 'hey, why can't I have someone too?'" he turned back to Tifa. "Did you know that Aerith was pregnant when she died?" he asked with a sweet look on his face.

Tifa could feel the hairs on her back rising. Cloud was beginning to creep her out and was also beginning to scare her. "You… you just pointed it out moments ago, Cloud." She said, trying to sound casual.

"Enough of this foolishness, Cloud Strife. Drop that sword and come with us, we'll help you." Rufus told him impatiently.

"What foolishness? You think this is foolish?" Cloud grabbed hold of Tifa, placing her hands behind her back and grasping them tightly as he placed the blade of his sword against her neck.

"Elena, get out of here. Go to Vincent." Rufus muttered to her.

"Yes, sir. Shall I call on back-up too?" Elena asked.

"Yes, please do hurry," he replied before turning back to Cloud and Tifa. "Well, well, well. Looks like we've been too busy arguing about Aerith and other stuff like Sephiroth, huh?" he asked with a casual but sarcastic tone.

"Don't ever mention that name again! It sickens me!" Cloud sneered at him, drawing the blade closer to Tifa's neck. Her eyes were wide in fear as she stiffened. She couldn't even breathe well anymore.

"What? Sephiroth?" Rufus asked with an innocent tone.

"STOP IT!" Cloud screamed against Tifa's ear, making her cringe.

Rufus gasped and turned his gaze towards the cradle. "Oh my goodness! Where is Sora?" he cried out.

Cloud was caught off-guard. "What?" he asked, his facial expression softening as he immediately let go of Tifa and ran back to the cradle… but it was already empty. "What the… where…" he was about to turn back to Tifa, but the next thing he saw was her fist going straight to his face.

She hit him once on the face and then repeatedly on his stomach and chest, then kicked his junk and then his shin. She gave him an uppercut before kicking him again, throwing him against the wall before he could even defend himself against her.

She was panting hard, staring at Cloud before rushing to Rufus, "Let's get out of here," she said.

"But what about him?" Rufus asked her.

Cloud quickly got up, blood coming out from his nose and his mouth. He looked like a psychotic killer on the loose with a big sword on his grasp. "You… you…" he snarled.

Rufus quickly grabbed Tifa's hand and led her outside the room as Cloud began to chase them. The lights were off and the whole hallway was dark; they couldn't see well.

Rufus couldn't even determine where the stairs are, and they just went past it. He could still hear Cloud's heavy footsteps from behind them… close enough… and the swishing of his sword back and forth from left to right, hitting random objects on the way.

And there was a dead end.

There was no other choice. Rufus aimed blindly at the darkness in front of him and pushed Tifa to his left side. Tifa wondered why she did not hit a wall… instead, she fell sideward onto the floor… 

The stench of rotting flesh filled her nose and it disgusted her. She quickly got up and covered her nose and tried to stop herself from throwing up.

She heard Rufus fire five times.

The footsteps stopped… all she could hear was Rufus panting hard.

Tifa carefully made her way through the dark room, feeling the walls for a switch. Finally, she got hold of the switch by the door and pushed it upward. The lights of the room went on and she looked up at the ceiling in surprise. The ceiling was dirty and full of cobwebs. She turned around and realized that it was a bedroom… a big bedroom.

Everything looked dusty and unclean… but what caught her attention was the sleeping figure beyond the transparent curtains of the canopy bed.

She slowly approached it and pushed open the curtains. What she saw made her eyes widen in shock and fear as she shivered. She screamed.

"What?" Rufus and Vincent entered the room and went to her, but they stopped when they sniffed the awful stench of rotting flesh. "Oh my goodness… what is that?" Rufus asked out loud, forgetting that Cloud was able to slash him across his chest, causing a gash. He covered his nose before completely turning to the bed.

Tifa was already crying and she ran to Rufus, embracing him tightly as she sobbed helplessly. 

Vincent's eyes were wide in disbelief as he stared… Rufus's eyes were also wide in shock, his mouth slightly open as he put down his hand. Suddenly, the smell didn't matter anymore. What they all saw was more disturbing and disgusting.

"Aerith!" Cloud cried out.

Rufus, Vincent and Tifa stepped away from the bed. The two men aimed their guns at Cloud, but Cloud doesn't seem to mind them anymore… he was looking at Aerith.

He was bleeding to death because of his wounds caused by Rufus's shotgun, and he couldn't walk anymore so he just crawled slowly, leaving a thick trail of blood on the floor outside and the carpet.

The three were quiet as they observed him, tears falling from his eyes… though he looked happy. He finally reached the bed and he slowly got up, stared at the rotting corpse in front of him and smiled lovingly at it. "I'm here… don't worry… don't be afraid…" whispered softly before he bent down and kissed her.

"Oh my God…" Tifa covered her mouth and turned away from the horrible scenario.

Rufus made a disgusted face upon realizing that maggots, worms and flies were already infesting the corpse.

Vincent bit swallowed hard with a stiff look on his face, though his eyes reflected pity and sadness for Cloud. He aimed his gun at him and fired.

Cloud was shot through the head. He slowly slipped away from Aerith and fell to the floor. Dead.

"I'm sorry, Cloud… but that's what you're asking for…" Vincent said softly with a stiff look on his face.

Rufus held Tifa closer to himself as he stared blankly at Cloud and Aerith.

Tifa wiped her tears away and swallowed hard, turning back to Cloud and Aerith with a pitiful look on her face.

Silence filled the whole room for several minutes… until they heard faint laughter coming from the window. They turned to the window and stared at the transparent figure of a young woman with long brown hair and green eyes, wearing a pink dress. She had her arms outstretched, as if welcoming somebody.

And they saw another transparent figure of a young man with spiky blond hair and blue eyes… Cloud.

He was smiling at the young woman as she welcomed him in her arms. They watched in awe as the two embraced lovingly.

"Finally, we're together…" Cloud told her softly.

Aerith smiled gently at him before turning her gaze to the three. She smiled sweetly. "Thank you," she whispered softly.

Tifa smiled slightly at Aerith as she watched her and Cloud fade away.

They were still quiet, trying to understand everything that they had just witnessed.

"What now?" Tifa asked after a few seconds.

Vincent sighed. "Let's all go home." He told them…

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The end.

Author's note: I know, it was disgusting… =_=' I even cringe at myself for writing this… anyway, I hope you all "enjoyed" it. Until next time! ;-)


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